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BRAISED ROCKFISH with Fumet, Vegetables seaweed and seal oil

This recipe is based on the Southeast Traditional Foods Contemporary Chef Webisode. If you don’t have access to some of the traditional Alaska Native ingredients, I’ve listed some substitutions you can try. The dish should work well for any firm fleshed white fish like cod or halibut.

Photo by Dr. Gary Ferguson

Want to see the video and how I prepared it? Watch it here … and see the other videos in our “watch” section.

PROCEDURE
1. In a sauce pan over medium heat sweat onion, celery.
2. When translucent add garlic and potatoes, stir to keep from sticking.
3. Add stock, bring to boil, drop to simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

FOR THE PLATE UP
2 T oil, salad or olive
2-6 oz portions of rockfish, Scaled, with an "X"
scored on the flesh side
12 oz fumet with vegetables cooked
1/2 oz yarrow (or other greens -- such as chard or spinach)
1/2 oz wild parsley ( or other greens -- such as chard or spinach)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons seaweed (can use Hijiki seaweed
or other seaweed from your store)
2 oz seal oil (the oil can be any high quality oil
or extra virgin olive oil)

PROCEDURE
1. In a medium heat saute pan add oil, sear rockfish skin side down.
2. Press down lightly with spatula to make sure skin sears well.
3. When you notice a hard white line, flip in pan.
4. Add fumet with vegetables, cook for 12 to 3 minutes
5. Finish with seaweed, foraged greens-just wilted.
Plate with fish on bottom, broth and veggies over the top, seal oil drizzled over the plate.

The tastes were interesting..from King Crab Bisque to Salmon Frankfruters and Salmon bacon. There were three different pickled seafoods-salmon, crab and cod. This is an event highlighting value added seafoods in Alaska. I would recommend keeping an eye out for the bisque, tasty and “the people’s choice”

This is an Article from Helene York. She was the keynote speaker at the Global Food Connect in Soldotna this year. She is the strategic overseer of a restaurant empire that is based in CA. I got a chance to chat with her at the end of the first day of the GFC.

My stand on corporate ventures in the service industry is the bigger they get the more soul they lack. Dictated to allure mediocrity to get butts in seats and expand. There are standouts like Mario Batali- that grow and reinvest in the business-He actually has a property in Long Island where he hand cures and ages all the restaurants cured meats. They have pasta programs in every restaurant and more. I’ve eaten at Danny Meyer’s restaurants in Manhattan, some of the better meals I’ve had. I’m sure there is a ripe rebuttal for that statement from some culinary purist, but you get the point.

During our conversation, Helene spoke about how the company mission is to provide ethical stances on all food ingredients. She keeps GMO’s, ultra processed foods and convenience foods at bay. She has appointed “foraging authorities” to meet the company standards they need to do business. She was telling me about implementing a charcuterie program for some of the higher end properties, and, God forbid there is a higher cost involved, there is justification in customer loyalty and appreciation of quality. She oversees 500 properties nationally.

As a chef this made me giddy. Along with that kind of buying power comes responsibility. Furthermore is the knowledge to maximize the product you buy. The shocking part of the article-What a fish processor buys at a dock from a fisherman is usually a gutted fish. To only sell the “prime” fillet is not maximizing the opportunity. If I were to sell a fish to a customer, and potentially make more money by selling not just the fillet, but the belly, “spoon meat”(what you scrape off the spine with a spoon-usually ends up in chowders) and more, the better profit I, the fish monger would get. Even offering to soup kitchens and getting a tax break seems to make sense- but this is from the outside looking in…

I do have to say that Copper River Seafoods is a very industrious and aggressive business. They also are not afraid to spend a little extra on premium product and infrastructure to minimize waste and maximize profit. I have bought their fish, fabricated wonderfully, fresh, handled with integrity. They do sell “burger” meat-(bellies and spoon). So thanks to them for maximizing all they buy and sell, and thanks to Helene York for visiting Alaska, and bringing this issue to light.